I've been gluten-free and lactose-free (and oat-free) for 9 years now. Look here for advice on eating out, brand foods and recipe ideas. Also check out the pages on food preparation and Yes/No foods if you are catering for someone with these food intolerances. There's still a wealth of food out there to be enjoyed!...

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Travelling Food

If you're anything like me and can't bear to skip a meal, make sure you're prepared before you go away.

Short breaks - Breakfasts
You'll probably find you can have the bacon, eggs and baked beans at most hotel buffet breakfasts - so it is worth checking with the staff. Check the eggs and bacon aren't fried on the same hot plate as bread etc.

Making sure you get enough carbs at breakfast is much trickier tho... I used to take GF bread with me everywhere, but lots of GF bread is not nice unless it's heated and the fresh varieties aren't good when they've been festering in a warm Travelodge room all night! Also, it's all pretty dry and horrible without margarine. So what GF carbs do travel well?...

Pack a small bag of GF cereal (and a box of UHT soya milk).

Pack a sachet of Baby Porridge as it can't get crushed in your luggage. Make up with hot water.

Pack some GF scones and mini pots of jam.

Short breaks - Pit stops
When stopping at motorway services, look out for M+S, Waitrose or Starbucks as they are good at labeling their foods. You should be able to pick up a Nicoise Salad or similar. If there's a Macdonalds, you can have the Fries (check the Coeliac food directory).

Longer Holidays - UK
We usually hire cottages/cabins for the ease of self-catering.

Make sure you buy/pack any GF essentials before you travel as you don't know what the local shops will stock. I always pack some Fresh Genius bread and marg so that I can make sandwiches for days out and biscuits to keep in the car. That way I'm not panicking all day about where we're going to eat, or going hungry, or having to order an expensive main meal wherever we are for lunch. You can always wolf down a sandwich on the way somewhere and the rest of the family can eat out (especially if it's not picnic weather).

Do your research - check out some restaurants for your hol destination on the internet before you go away. If you can find a couple that have GF on their menu this will put your mind at rest before you go away. Also, check out my list of Nationwide restaurants that do GF and see if there are any branches where you are going.

If you like baking and you're going to stay in a cottage/cabin, pre-weigh some dry ingredients for crumble or biscuits and bag up to take with you. Then all you need to buy is oil/marg and eggs to finish the recipe.